


I Can See How You Feel About Me

by Crazy_Pairing_Person



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Based on a Dream, Bonding, Drama, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Other, Season 2 spoilers, you'll have to see what I mean by that?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7789870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Pairing_Person/pseuds/Crazy_Pairing_Person
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith can see Emotions - Always has been able to. He knows that no one else, no other humans anyway, have that ability, so he's never really told anyone.</p><p>He especially never planned on telling Lance.</p><p>-</p><p>Based on both a dream I had and a book I read once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a thing. I don't really know what to do? If there are any questions about who Keith's, erm, ability works, ask in the comments I guess. If people like this I can make this into a series!
> 
> Also the book I mentioned in the summary is called 'Some Quiet Place', written by Kelsey Sutton. It wasn't totally my favorite book but it's better than fucking Twilight. (...Not like that's a hard feat to accomplish I guess)
> 
> Enjoy darlings!

"Fuck off, Fear."

Keith's quiet hiss is unheard by any of his fellow Paladins in the room, but the Emotion he was addressing clearly heard him. Fear smiles innocently at him and Keith has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Or punching him.

Fear has no place being here. It's their first day off in forever, and all they want to do is relax. Keith himself would really prefer to be training, but he knows he'd only overwork himself if he went to the training room.

His point is, there's no reason anyone here should be scared. Fear's just there to be his normal shitty self.

"Dude, what are you glaring at?" Lance's question makes Keith jump. He flushes red when he sees that the other Paladins are staring at him in confusion. When he glances back quickly to where Fear had just been, he's gone.

Asshole.

"Nothing. I just want to be training."

"Relaxation never hurt anyone," Shiro says, with his normal fatherly concern. Keith huffs and looks away. He distantly wonders if he could stab Fear with his bayard.

* * *

Later, Keith sees Sadness following Lance around. It's not like he hasn't seen it before, but Keith's noticed that Sadness has shown up more and more lately. Especially around Lance. When Keith feels the touch of another emotion on his own shoulder, he looks, and sees Worry.

"I'm ignoring you," he says to Worry. Denial shows up and touches his neck, then disappears without a word.

He almost wants to go and check on Lance, but Denial's influence stops him. With a a soft sigh, he decides to turn and head to the training room.

* * *

Keith always knew he was different. He knows no other humans - Paladin or otherwise - can see the Emotions like he does. He can't really recall when he first knew that he was different. It's almost like he's always known. Like it's a fact known on a subconscious level, the same way he instinctively knows the names of every Emotion when he first meets them.

He's never told anyone about this little 'talent', not even Shiro. He's not sure how he'd even be able to explain it without sounding like he's just hallucinating.

The only thing that could count as 'evidence' he has are the drawings he keeps. Simple sketches of all the Emotions, so he doesn't forget them. He's sure that's impossible for him, but he figures it's better safe than sorry.

Keith always has kept the sketchbook on him - It's small enough to fit in his jacket pocket. Now, he keeps it on the desk in his room. Every time he sees it, he considers taking it and showing it to everyone. But then he stops himself and he decides against it. He's thought on it so much that Apprehension has stopped coming when he does. Her influence is ingrained on him now, so chances are he'll never tell anyone.

* * *

Just because he'll never go and actually plan to tell them, apparently doesn't mean someone won't find out.

Lance doesn't make an effort to bond with him that much. And if he does, he claims not to remember afterwards. So he's sure that when Lance knocks on his door on another free day, it's from Shiro's orders.

"Um. Want to hang out?"

Keith catches a sight of another Emotion behind Lance, but it's gone so quickly that he can't really be sure which one it was. "Sure?" It comes out more like a question. He steps aside to let Lance in. Lance comes in and looks around the room. There's not much to see, it's pretty similar to Lance's, so Keith's not sure why he bothers looking.

Lance sits down in the chair in front of Keith's desk and spins it around to face Keith, who's sat himself down on his bed. They stare silently at each other for a minute, then look away.

Keith doesn't really notice until it's too late, Lance's gaze has gone straight to his sketchbook.

"'Emotions'? What's this?"

Keith looks up and sees that Lance has picked it up. "It's personal," he says. He feels his face heating up, and his heart is pounding. He glances to the side - Of  _fucking_ course. "Go away, Fear," he whispers. Lance doesn't seem to have heard him, but Keith bites his lip anyway.

"Aww, but this is fun!" Fear is the most chatty Emotion Keith has ever met. And he's goddamned  _asshole_. "I wanna see what happens!"

Fear leans back on his hands, having sat right next to Keith on the bed. Keith huffs and turns his gaze back to Lance. Who, he has just now noticed, was flipping through the drawings in his book.

Fuck.

"Did you like, design these yourself?" Lance asks. He looks up at Keith, and Keith sees Amazement appear behind Lance. A quick touch to Lance's cheek, a wave to Keith, and then they're gone. "They're really good," Lance says. Keith blushes and looks down.

"I mean, I didn't really 'design' them, but those _are_ my drawings."

Lance tilts his head, then comes to sit next to Keith. "What's that even mean, huh?" His tone is lighthearted, joking. "Don't tell me you see these all over," he says, waving the sketchbook around.

Fear snickers behind him, and Keith turns to glare at him. Fear holds up his hands in surrender, then disappears. Keith sighs, and turns back to Lance, who now has shock on his face. Also, Shock behind him. "This seems to be going well," Shock says jokingly. Then she's gone, and Keith crosses his arms and turns away, not willing to meet Lance's gaze.

"I know it sounds crazy, but yeah. I see them, but they're like... Spirits, or something." Keith shrugs, and the oh-so familiar feeling of apprehension crawls up his spine. "I'm not crazy, I know they're there. They just exist on some other plane and no one else can-" He cuts himself off with a sigh. "I sound crazy, right?"

When he peeks back at Lance, he sees his fellow Paladin flipping through the sketchbook again. "I mean, considering everything we've been through," Lance says, "this is really no shock at all."

He means them being Paladins, fighting with giant robot cats up in space. Keith smirks. "Yeah, that's fair."

"So, do you see them  _all_ the time?" Lance asks, closing the sketchbook. He hands it back to Keith. "I mean, people feel things a lot, so there must be a lot of those... Spirit guys around, right?"

"You'd think so, but no." Keith smiles and leans against the wall. "They only show up in certain situations. Most of the time people are capable of creating their own emotions. But when they do it on their own, they're just sort of there. You can notice it but it's nothing to really care much about." He closes his eyes, and thinks back to when Happiness and Excitement both showed up at his side, as he looked up at the stars and decided he wanted to go see them up close. "But when there are emotions that could shape your entire future, that's when they show up, to make those feelings stronger. Or when something's just such a big part of who you are, and you miss it so much, Sadness or Anger, or Loss or Longing or  _any_ combination of them will show up and make you miss it a lot."

He pauses, and opens his eyes halfway. "And Fear... Half the time he is doing his actual job. Most of the time he's just an  _ass_ though."

Lance snorts and laughs into his hand, as if trying to hide his amusement at what Keith just said. Not like he can do that, really. Mirth shows up just as he starts laughing and touches Lance's shoulder, and stays until Lance stops laughing. "Well, okay. How can you tell if he's doing his job and if he's being ass though?" Lance seems like he just wants to see what Keith says, and wants to see if he says something so out of character again.

"Have you ever been totally horrified by something that's totally mundane?" Keith asks. "Like, you see a giant knife in your friend's house, and suddenly you think that they could kill you with it? That's Fear being an ass. Things like not wanting to get on an airplane because you're scared of heights - Well, I haven't really figured out if that's him being an ass or not, honestly." He pauses to think about that, then shrugs. "Anyway, stuff like thinking you'll die in the middle of a giant war like we're in now,  _that's_ definitely him doing his job."

"I'm _always_ doing my job, Keith."

Keith sees Fear sitting on his desk, and glares at him. "Fuck off, Fear. I'm having an actual conversation here."

Lance starts laughing again, and Mirth shows up once more. Fear does as Keith has asked him, for once, and leaves. Then there's another Emotion at Lance's side. Keith flushes when he recognizes them as Affection. They wink at him as they place their hand on Lance's back.

"Shit, Lance." The words leave his mouth before he can stop them, and Lance just grins blindingly at him, unaware of the Emotions at his side.

"I wasn't even scared that time," Lance says.

"Emotions have to be touching you, or they have to be around you for a long period of time," Keith says, not meeting Lance's eyes. "Otherwise you won't be affected by them."

Lance clicks his tongue. "You know that this is like, really cool, right?"

"I sound crazy," Keith says.

"I don't think so."

Mirth has left Lance's side, but Affection stays. Keith looks away, but he starts feeling their influence anyway. It's not as strong as Lance is no doubt feeling, since he's the one they originally came for, but it's definitely there.

"A-anyway," he stutters, "if you experience an event enough times, and you feel the same emotion over and over, that effect will become ingrained into your psyche. Then, if that event, or something similar enough to it, happens again, you'll feel that same emotion at a strong enough level on your own and they won't even show up."

He starts telling Lance more and more of what he knows about Emotions. But he doesn't mention that he sees Sadness so often beside Lance. It doesn't seem like something he should bring up, now that they're just getting along.

"Does anyone else know?"

Lance's question, even though it was expected, is sudden. Keith shrugs, and he's thankful that Lance can't see Embarrassment materializing next to him. "You're the first to know."

"Not even Shiro?" Lance looks really shocked, but Keith sees Affection tighten their grip on Lance's arm, and Hope appears to grab hold of his other arm.

"Shiro, while he is the closest thing to a brother I have, doesn't know." Keith shrugs. "I might've told him if he'd asked, but he never even asked about the drawings. Guess he thought they were some sort of coping method."

Hope disappears just as fast as he'd come. "So, you wouldn't have ever said anything to anyone if I hadn't looked at your drawings?" Disappointment takes Hope's place. Keith glares at her but quickly looks back to Lance.

"I am glad you were the first one I could tell, though." Disappointment leaves, and Lance grins, looking away in an attempt to hide his blush.

* * *

Keith doesn't tell anyone else, and Lance doesn't try to make him. It's a sort of secret, one that's brought them even closer than they were before.

"Hey, Keith?"

Keith looks at Lance, having just finished a round of training. He wipes sweat from his forehead and speaks, "What's up?"

"You know I never hated you."

It's not a question. "Yeah, I know."

Lance is blushing. Apprehension is behind him, touching his neck. "You know, that most of that whole 'rivalry' thing," Lance says, "it was just me wanting you to notice me."

Keith smirks, even though he can feel his face heating up. Affection stands in the room, not touching either of them, but Keith knows they'll be affecting both of them soon enough. "Yeah, I guess I knew that. Most of the time you looked at me I'd see Envy or Admiration."

Lance huffs and looks away, but he doesn't reply.

"Is that all you wanted?" Keith asks when Lance doesn't speak for a bit.

Lance hesitates. "You know that I, well..." Lance doesn't finish his sentence. Keith raises an eyebrow. He looks over at Affection, then back to Lance.

"Yeah, I can take a guess." There's a small smile on his face. "I feel the same, you know."

Lance's blush intensifies. Even if Keith couldn't see Joy materializing next to Lance, the giant grin on his face would've been clue enough.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance have a sort of date, and Keith is lost in how much he absolutely loves this boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So these are, technically, going to be sort of connected oneshots, and the chapters could easily stand apart on their own. I just was so happy that everyone seemed to like the idea, so I decided to keep it going. They'll also all be in chronological order!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for all the sweet comments! Enjoy!

Keith dodges a blow from the gladiator. Sweat falls from his face like a waterfall, and his heart is racing. He was almost too slow that time. He'll probably have to stop, but he needs to finish the level-

"End simulation."

The gladiator stops its attack and Keith turns to glare at Lance. Lance, who leans against the wall with a cocky smirk, but can't hide the fact that Sadness is right next to him. Keith's glare falls and he sighs.

"Want to go to the observatory?" he asks, giving Lance an easy smile.

"I guess." Lance shrugs, like he doesn't care. But Relief shows up and touches his shoulder. He had wanted to spend time with Keith. Wanted Keith to take his mind off of his family and friends from Earth.

Keith gives him a smile and feels Affection behind him, touching his neck. "Let's go then."

How long has it been, he wonders? Since Lance has found out? Since they have begun this budding relationship? Weeks? Months?

Keith can't remember, but finds that he doesn't really care anyway. As they walk to the observatory, his hand slips into Lance's, and their fingers entwine together. He looks at Lance from the corner of his eye. Lance looks back at him, and they smile.

Sadness has long disappeared, but his emotion is not one that fades as easily as Mirth or Fear. Lance will surely feel it until Keith can manage to take his mind off of it. Their eyes are drawn to the stars the moment they enter the room. Keith glances at their reflection in Lance's ocean-like blue eyes. His breath hitches. Lance hears, and looks at Keith with a tilt of his head.

"Something wrong?"

Keith blushes, and he looks away. Courage, rather than Embarrassment as he'd expected for moment, shows at his side and winks at Keith. She touches Keith's shoulder, then leaves. Keith smirks at Lance, but he knows his face is still pink. Ignoring that fact, he says, "Just saw something beautiful."

Lance stares at Keith for a moment, and then his face lights up. He laughs and his grip on Keith's hand tightens. Keith savors the sight of Lance's smile, his genuine smile that's not a cover for Sadness's presence. "Geez, I'm rubbing off on you, huh?" Lance says, wiping a tear from his eye. Keith sees Joy and Affection behind him, and smiles.

"Is that a problem?" he asks. Lance shakes his head, the grin not fading from his face even as Joy disappears. Keith sees how Lance's eyes sparkle in the light. He thinks that if he wanted, if he tried, he could even see every one of Lance's thoughts just by looking in his eyes.

Instead, he asks, "Can I kiss you?"

Lance nods quickly. Keith puts his free hand on Lance's neck, and leans up to press their lips together. They move carefully, slowly. Keith's not sure if it's him or Lance that's trembling. Maybe both. It's overwhelming, and his heart is pounding from the rush. He thinks that if he opened his eyes, he'd go dizzy from seeing so many Emotions. So he keeps them shut and pulls Lance closer, closer,  _closer_.

When Lance pulls away, Keith thinks he lets out a whine. He tries to chase Lance, because it's not enough, he needs  _more_. Lance chuckles and the hand that Keith isn't holding brushes the bangs from Keith's face. Keith lets his eyes open. Lance is there, smiling at him like he never wants to let Keith go. Like Keith has put all the stars in the sky. Keith doesn't know what he's done to deserve Lance.

"Cariño, do you know how much I adore you?"

The question is rhetorical, because  _of course_ Keith knows. He can see them all right there - Joy, Affection, Courage, Trust, Awe, and...

Keith's breath hitches when he sees Love. "God, Lance." He hides his blushing face in the crook of Lance's neck. He can't say it, but  _holy hell_ does he return all those feelings. But something holds him back - An Emotion, no doubt. He doesn't lift his head to see which one because he'll bet anything it's Fear being an ass again. He tightens his grip on Lance's hand, though, as an affirmation that he loves Lance too.

* * *

A little while later, they've sat down and they're talking about life on Earth. Lance's life, Lance's family.

"So my twin takes it and says, 'Don't you lie to me! This is a perfectly fine slice of pizza!' And seeing as she won't believe me, I let her eat it." Lance snorts into his hand. "Next day when she's groaning and hanging over the toilet I make sure to say 'I told you so!' and run off to school before she gets  _me_ sick too."

Keith can't help but laugh at Lance's stories. Lance has such a big family, and of course that means Lance has  _a lot_ of stories. Not just about his family, either. He had stories about his significant others, his family's significant others, his friends, friend's families. The list went on and on but Keith was utterly captivated.

Also, Lance gestured with his hands a lot, and that's just really cute.

"-Can you believe that?! I just gave him my jacket, like, how is that flirting?! I just didn't want him to get frostbite!" Lance pouts at Keith, but Mirth is behind Lance. So Lance isn't as upset about that situation as he's trying to act. Probably thinks it's funny, now.

"Don't ask me," Keith says. He gives Lance a sort of half-smile. "I'm not all that good with people. Never even been kissed before."

Lance gasps dramatically, and Keith raises an eyebrow. "But... Earlier, you were so...!" Lance doesn't finish the sentence, but Joy shows up behind him, touching his neck. Lance is happy to be Keith's first kiss. Keith smiles and feels his stomach flip. Joy touches him, too, and Love shows up just to brush against his arm.

"'So' what?" Keith teases. Lance blushes and covers his face.

"Shut up, Keith," Lance says, but the tone is light. Keith laughs and reaches for Lance's hand. He gently pries the fingers away and reveals deep blue eyes, oceans that Keith thinks he wouldn't mind drowning in.

"I love you," Keith says. Lance whines and leans in for their second kiss.

He pulls back just enough to say it back, "I love you too," but it's unnecessary. He knows Keith can see it all. But it's also nice to hear the words. Keith pulls him back in for another kiss, then another, and one more...

They're not sure how long they stay there, kissing under the light of unfamiliar stars. But Keith feels like he needs more of it. More of Lance, like Lance is water and Keith is dying of thirst in the middle of a desert.

He realizes that he actually  _had_ been living in a desert when they first met. Irony at its finest, but he can't let himself fully appreciate it before he pulls Lance back in for another kiss. "I love you, so much," he says, a whisper between their lips. " _Lance_." He's not sure what he wants, but he says the name like a plea.

" _Keith_ ," Lance says back. Keith hides his face in Lance's neck again, catching his breath for just a moment. "Hermoso, te amo, Keith."

Keith doesn't ask what it means, only clings to Lance, desperate to be closer.

* * *

He falls asleep there, against Lance, and the next thing he knows he's in his room, covered by blankets. Affection appears and Keith smiles softly as he realizes that Lance must have carried him.

Before they leave, Affection points at Keith's desk. "He left you a note," they say, and then they're gone. Keith looks and sits up. He has to stretch himself to get it without getting out of bed, but it's a sacrifice he's willing to make because  _he's not ready to get up yet_.

' _Keith, I love you, so much. But you're hard to carry! I mean no offense cause the largest thing I've ever carried was Nyma, and she was really just kinda sitting in my lap. I bet her bones were hollow or something, she was like a feather, christ! But you were so sweet and cute (yes I know you'll kill me now but WORTH IT) when you were sleeping that I didn't wanna wake you up. So I hope you don't mind that I carried you!_

_Also I flipped through some of your drawings again. And I didn't see Love on there. I can't tell if that's because love is 'a combination of a bunch of different feelings' like my mom told me once or if you've never met him/her/them before._

_If you've finally met Love though, draw them. I want you to show me, too. -Lance_ '

With a smile, Keith reaches for his sketchbook, and takes the pencil that's stuck in the wire loops on the side. He flips to an empty page and starts to work from memory.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith knows he can't read social cues well, but his ability allows him to read others probably better than they could read themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter has hints of Pidge/Hunk in it! I'm just going to let you know because I know not everyone likes that pairing and since it wasn't originally tagged I thought it would be fair to let you know. It'll be tagged once this is up, of course, but I'm just going to say it here too.
> 
> I'll be sure to put notes whenever it's going to be in other parts too, since it won't be in every one. :) With that in mind, if you're still reading this, enjoy!

Keith looks around the table, shoveling a bite of food into his mouth.

Mirth sits by Pidge and Shiro as they laugh over some joke. Joy is next to Hunk as Lance praises him for the meal. Keith squeezes Lance's hand, and Affection appears between them, and Lance tosses a smile at him.

Allura and Coran don't have any Emotions at their side as they leave the Paladins to their meal. Keith has learned that Alteans' feelings are strong enough on their own without the help of another plane.

"Do you guys think you're being sly?" Pidge asks suddenly. They take a bite of their food and ignore Shiro's scolding.

"Huh?" Lance stares at Pidge blankly. This only seems to infuriate them - Except that Keith can see Mirth and Joy putting more attention on them. He connects the dots and nudges Lance.

"They think we were trying to hide that we're dating," he says. Lance blinks and pouts at Pidge.

"You can't give us more credit than that?! We're not stupid!"

"We know Keith isn't stupid," Pidge says with a brisk nod. They ignore Lance's indignant shout and smile innocently. "At least you're better than Hunk."

"Pidge!" Hunk squawks and Pidge only shrugs in reply.

"Listen, just admit that Shay's your-"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Pidge clicks their tongue disapprovingly and blatantly ignores Hunk's wail.

It's conversations like these that have everyone's Emotions going haywire. Keith almost goes dizzy from seeing them change so fast.

Worry sits at Shiro's side as he tries to mediate. Keith knows that Worry is a near-constant presence near Shiro - He'd punch them if it'd give Shiro a damn moment of relaxation.

There's Mirth and Mischief at Lance's side as he goads Pidge on. He finds the situation funny, and it's certainly not boring. Which is something Lance complains about often, actually.

At Hunk's side, there is Irritation, but Keith can tell that Mirth is stretching herself so she can affect Hunk as well as Lance. Hunk is tired of them all saying he likes Shay, but he also knows that this is just playful banter.

Pidge's Emotion is the strangest, though. Keith has to pause to figure out what their thoughts are.

Longing is there by Pidge, with Joy and Mirth now no longer affecting them. Earlier, where they had been hiding their happiness at their friends' happiness with playful taunting, at least Keith could guess. Now he has to think.

He sees Pidge glance down at his and Lance's hands, still entwined, and then their eyes quickly go back to Hunk. Longing touches their shoulder, strengthening the feeling that's there. Keith understands, suddenly. At least, he thinks he does.

"I don't think Hunk likes Shay," he says. Everyone stops and looks at him. He looks Lance in the eye, knowing he'll at least partially understand, for a moment, then looks back to Hunk. "Right, Hunk? It's like you say. She's just a rock you admire very much, right?"

"Yes!" Hunk throws his arms in the air. Mirth and Relief touch both of his shoulders. Hunk looks down at Pidge, who's now staring at Keith. "And no, Pidge, I do not mean  _that_ kind of admire."

Pidge ignores him and walks out of the room. Keith touches Lance's arm, and draws Lance's gaze back to him. "Come on."

He and Lance go just outside their rooms. Keith leans against a wall and Lance tilts his head.

"Emotion-seeing stuff?"

"Sorta," Keith says. "Be specific, here."

"First question," Lance says, holding up one finger, "how do you know he doesn't like Shay?"

"Because whenever he says that he doesn't, Denial doesn't show up." Keith brushes hair from his eyes. "If someone were to verbally disagree or ignore feelings that they know are there, Denial shows up. He's different than the other Emotions in that way, I guess."

Lance nods thoughtfully. "Why'd you speak up about it?"

Keith motions for Lance to come closer. Lance steps forward and moves his ear next to Keith's mouth. He hears what Keith says and blinks at him slowly. "No."

"Yes."

Lance rubs his neck, rolling what Keith has told him over in his mind. Worry shows at Lance's side. Lance is worried about Pidge, and Keith thinks that's really nice. "I don't know," he says, getting Lance's attention, "if it'll work out."

"So why..."

"I was wondering if you'd be okay with me telling Pidge my secret, too."

 

Lance cocks his head to the side, and just stares for a moment. "Am I supposed to... Not be okay? Or something?"

"I thought you liked being the only one to know," Keith says, shrugging. He looks to the side and feels his face becoming warm. "Thought you'd be upset if I told someone else."

"I like that I'm the first person you told," Lance says. He grins and gently touches Keith's chin and pulls his gaze back. "If you think it'd help Pidge, so they could have an outlet or whatever, then go ahead."

Affection appears behind Lance. "You're a dork." Keith sighs, knowing that Affection is there for him just as much as they are for Lance.

"Ugh!"

Pidge's cry makes them jump, and Affection disappears as Lance and Keith look at them. Pidge is glaring at some undefined spot behind them. "Lovebirds, get a room," they say, their voice soft. Keith sees Envy and Longing and Sadness all crowding behind Pidge. They're more gone for Hunk than Keith originally thought.

"Pidge, have you been crying?" Lance asks. Pidge rubs furiously at their eyes, as if trying to hide the residual tears.

"Shut up," Pidge says. Lance looks at Keith. Courage shows next to Keith, and gives him a comforting smile. She touches his shoulder and then leaves. Keith takes a deep breath.

"Pidge, come into my room." The abrupt subject change makes Pidge look up. "I want to show you something."

* * *

Pidge stares blankly at the sketchbook. Keith wonders if they've heard a single word he's said.

"Pidge? You okay?" he asks carefully. He barely gives Fear a glance when he shows up and touches his shoulder. "Did I freak you out?"

Suddenly, Pidge jumps up and grabs his shoulders. "Can I scan your brain?!" Their face has the biggest grin Keith's ever seen. He blinks dumbly at it.

"Why?"

"Because!" Pidge jumps off of Keith's bed and starts pacing the room. "If you can see beings from another plane, beings that control how we can feel, then there must be something going on in there!" Their eyes are just sparkling in excitement as they spin around, Joy at their side like an invisible wingman. "If I know what makes you see them, maybe I could give that ability to everyone else, too!"

"You can't," Keith says. He feels bad having to tear them down when they look all excited like that, but Keith just  _knows_ it isn't possible. "I don't know how, but I know you can't. It's like how I know all the Emotions' names when I haven't even met them. Just a weird intuition."

Joy dissipates. "Oh." Pidge sighs and plops on the floor. They look up and smile at Keith wryly. "Thanks for telling me, though."

Keith shrugs. "No problem."

"How come no one else knows except Lance?" Pidge tilts their head, silently scrutinizing.

"You wanna tell people that you can see other-worldly creatures that control everyone's feelings but no one else can see?"

Pidge pauses. "Okay, yeah, fair point." They sigh. "Must've been lonely."

Keith narrows his eyes when Pity appears at Pidge's side. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Pity me. I don't like it."

Pidge jumps and shakes their head. "N-no! It wasn't like that! Just, uh..." They flounder, trying to explain themselves, but Keith shakes his head.

"Don't worry about it. I kinda expected it." Keith leans against the wall, and looks at Pidge from the corner of his eye. "Anyway, do you know why I told you?"

"Uh, no." Pidge blinks and looks at him blankly. "Why?"

"I saw Longing earlier," Keith says. "Saw her while you were saying that Hunk likes Shay."

Pidge freezes.

"He doesn't. I know that, and-"

"But does he like  _me_?"

Keith stops.

He hasn't ever seen Affection outside of interactions between him and Lance. Hunk's happy a lot so he wouldn't really notice if Joy was around him more with Pidge. The same for Mirth. And they're all worried about each other whenever someone gets hurt so he can't even think about when he's seen Worry.

"I don't know," he says.

"Exactly."

Pidge draws their knees up to their chest and tuck their head in between. Keith sighs. Desperation and Longing both show at Pidge's side.

"Don't give up," he says when he sees the two. Pidge shakes their head.

"Don't tell me what to do."

Keith sits there silently. He's not sure if Pidge is crying or not. He doesn't know what to say, either. The Emotions aren't very good practice for social interactions.

"Hey, uh," he says, "want me to tell you what they're like?"

Pidge looks up. "What?"

"The Emotions. I can tell you how they work and what they act like and..." He trails off when he sees that Pidge is just staring at him. Desperation and Longing are gone, though. "Just, anything's better than sitting there crying on the floor, right?"

Slowly, a smile comes to Pidge's face, and they giggle. It's not enough for Mirth to come, but it's there. Kieth sighs in relief.

"Sure. Tell me what they're like."

"Alright," Keith says and he holds out the sketchbook that Pidge previously dropped. "Pick one."

Pidge goes through and points at Anger. "She looks badass. I like her."

* * *

When Pidge leaves later, it's with a smile and Joy. Keith waves at them, Relief at his side.

"I like your friends," Relief says. Keith nods.

"Yeah."

"I am sorry we kept you from having many before."

"It's okay. Not you guys' fault."

Relief hums, and fades away, his job done. Keith's not alone for long before Lance comes in. Keith doesn't bother to point out that knocking is a thing. "Pidge was smiling. They okay now?"

"I think so," Keith says. Lance sighs and sits down next to Keith.

"Good. I like,  _never_ see them cry. It freaked me out earler."

Keith smiles and leans against Lance. "Nice that you care."

"Shut up, mister 'I can take one look at you and know what you're thinking'."

"Feeling, Lance."

"Whatever," Lance says with a roll of his eyes. "I just wanna cuddle now. Shiro beat my ass in the training room."

Keith snorts and grabs on to Lance's hand as he tries to suppress his laughter. Lance starts kissing on his cheeks, and Keith whines. Lance would be the fucking  _death_ of him, he swore.

"Love you, Keith."

Shit, when he says it like that Keith just can't even try to be mad. He huffs and hides his face in Lance's neck. "Love you too."

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith worries about Pidge. Hunk misunderstands that and Lance finds this hilarious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You could consider this to have slight amounts of Pidge/Hunk. Or you can just say that Hunk's being protective of Lance. Whichever.
> 
> I'm sorry this isn't much longer, though. :( It's been so long and then I just do... This.

"Hey, Keith? Can I talk to you?" Hunk asks. Keith raises an eyebrow. He's just finished level three of the training bot with Lance, and they were about to start level four when Hunk came in. He looks at Lance, then at Worry at Hunk's side and he gives a short nod.

"Yeah. What's up?"

Hunk glances at Lance, then back at Keith. "Are you cheating on Lance?" he asks all in one breath.

Keith tenses in shock.

" _What_?!"

He barely registers Shock at his side because he's trying to process Hunk's question.

Hunk fiddles with his fingers and doesn't meet Keith's eyes. "Just, I've seen you hanging around Pidge a lot, and... I'm just worried about-"

"Oh my god, Hunk! No!" Keith rubs his - now burning red - face with his hand, letting his bayard drop down to the floor. "No, I'm not cheating on Lance with Pidge."

He _has_ been hanging around Pidge more than usual ever since they found out about his ability. But that's because Pidge has nightmares. Bad ones. And apparently they've decided that he's the only one they can turn to. Which, he guesses, makes some semblance of sense, considering he's the only one they can't hide their feelings from.

"Okay, well, if you say so..."

Hunk doesn't look too convinced, and Worry is still at his side, but he leaves anyway. Keith huffs, and turns around. He's met with Lance, who's covering his face with his hand.

"Lance?" he says gently. "Are you-"

"Pffftahahahahah!"

Keith jolts back at the sudden laughter. Mirth touches Lance's shoulder just before he drops to the ground, kicking his legs as he laughs and laughs.

"He- He thought- AHAHAHAHAH!"

Keith stares dumbly down at his boyfriend. "You thought that was funny?" he asks. His eye twitches and he feels Irritation trailing his fingers gently down Keith's arm.

Lance laughs for several more ticks before Keith gets an answer. "Y-yeah!" Lance gets out a few more giggles. "He thought you'd cheat on me!"

Irritation all but disappears. Keith blushes and feels Affection at his side in Irritation's place, and the emotion warms his chest. "Well, I'm glad you have such faith in our relationship," he says softly.

Then, Pidge comes in. "Hey, was that Hunk? What'd he say?"

Keith barely stops himself from smirking as he replies, "He thought I was cheating on Lance. With you."

"Oh," Pidge says. Then, a few ticks later, "Wait, what?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith talks about his supposed humanity, reads Lance's palm, and teaches Pidge a helpful trick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a brief mention of Pidge/Hunk, but it's at the very end.

"Sometimes I don't think I'm human."

Keith's sentence makes Pidge look up from their sketchbook - A gift from Keith - and makes Lance look up from the book he was reading.

It was an offhand observation, and he didn't mean to say it aloud. But he stands by it. "Like, most of the time I know I can't be anything else. But then I notice Worry hanging by Shiro or I'm yelling at Fear and I realize that that's not something a normal human experiences and I shouldn't be able to see or do those things without finding them  _weird_."

"Oh, sure," Pidge says. "Magic flying robot cats and intergalactic war is normal. But you see Emotions and are more in tune with someone's feelings than they are, and suddenly things are getting weird."

Keith snorts. "I'm serious Pidge. I'm not normal." He frowns slightly. "Do you think there's an alien race that sees Emotion? Maybe I'm one of those and I was sent to Earth as a baby."

"Why would they send a baby to Earth?" Lance asks, nudging Keith.

"I don't know. I'm just guessing," Keith says. He nudges Lance back, and Affection appears behind them.

"I don't think you're an alien, Keith," Pidge says, adjusting their glasses. "I'm not saying that in the 'You're human, you grew up on Earth, blah blah blah' type way. You said the Emotions are some sort of beings that exist on another plane, right?"

Keith nods, and Pidge continues on. "And so far, none of the aliens we've encountered can see this other plane. What would make more sense than you being an alien would be if you were, like, some half-breed of a human and some other creature that exists on this other plane. You sure couldn't be their type, because then we couldn't interact with or even see you. But if you were completely human, you couldn't see them either." Pidge grins smugly. "So, in a sense, you are, at the very least, _partially_ human."

Keith and Lance stare at Pidge in slight shock. "I didn't even consider that before now," he says.

"How could he be part... Emotion, or whatever, though?" Lance asks. "Like, if humans aren't able to see them, then what-"

"Life."

Pidge and Lance look at him. "Huh?" they say in unison.

"I'm... Okay, hear me out," Keith says. His eyes narrow a bit, trying to recall. "In addition to there being personifications of Emotions, there's others. Including a personification of Life and Death. I mean, Death is just really the 'Grim Reaper' or whatever. And I mostly I only ever see the Emotions. But Life..." He trails off for a moment. "I've never met him. Or her. Or them. Not a lot of Life in the desert, honestly. But from what I hear of them from the Emotions, they've been able to create children with humans without their knowledge."

"So..." Lance sits up straighter. "You're like, half... Life?"

"That or an alien baby sent to Earth for some weird-ass reason," Pidge says. "Let's go with half-Life for now, though."

"Do you have anything you can do with that?" Lance asks. Keith thinks for a moment, and shrugs.

"None that I've seen. But if I notice any, I'll let you know."

Lance nods, then plops his head back down in Keith's lap to keep reading his book. Pidge flips a page and starts doodling again. Keith picks up Lance's left hand and idly starts to trace the lines.

"Your life line is curvy," he says softly without realizing.

"Huh? You know palm reading?" Lance asks, looking up at Keith. Amazement briefly touches his shoulder, and Keith shrugs and blushes.

"The Emotions taught me a long time ago, before I even met Shiro. They felt bad for me, cause they knew I was lonely, and wanted to take my mind off it..." He looks at Lance's hand again. "Your heart line is long and curvy - You freely express how you feel. Very accurate." He decides not to mention the small circle on the line, which means intense sadness or depression. "Your head line is separated from your life line. You have a sense of adventure and enthusiasm for life."

"If deciding to fly a Blue robot lion into space ain't adventure I don't know what is," Lance jokes. He grins at Keith. "Keep going."

Keith smiles softly at Lance and then looks down at his boyfriend's palm. "Okay, the life line isn't actually associated with length of life. That's just a common misconception." He traces Lance's life line, from the thumb and in a curve to his wrist. "This one's curvy, too. Plenty of energy."

"All of them are curvy?" Lance stares at his hand with a slight pout. "That's boring."

"You don't have a fate line." Keith smiles slightly. "That one might not have been curvy, but we'll never know." He looks over to Pidge, who is still fervently sketching away, Longing at their side. He's made Pidge wish for what he has with Lance... He has an idea. "Hey, Pidge, want me to teach you palm reading?"

"I don't believe in that," Pidge says evenly, carefully.

"I don't either," Keith says. "Not really. I just like holding Lance's hand."

Lance blushes, and Affection is at his side in an instance, gently trailing on his arm.

"Still no." Irritation is at Pidge's side, next to Longing now. Keith sighs, and feigns disappointment.

"Oh well. I thought maybe you could practice on Hunk..."

That gets Pidge's attention, and they look up suddenly. Excitement is behind them now, with Longing and Irritation gone. They're avoiding his gaze and blushing a bit. "Yeah, okay, you can teach me. Why not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you guys has read 'Some Quiet Place' you'll get why I mentioned the possibility of Keith being 'half-Life'. If you haven't or just started then I won't go into detail about it, though if you want to know you can always ask. ;3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith needs to know more about how his ability works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With season 2, I now have more things to add on with Keith's ability in this AU. But I also have a new way to end it and basically now, this ain't a oneshot collection. Also... There will be a sequel... *shifty eyes and dramatic music*
> 
> Also, to BleuSarcelle, on Chapter 2 you said that you liked how the Emotions didn't take the whole screen. Sadly, with what I have planned, that might begin to happen at some parts... I sincerely apologize but also I can live with Disappointment at your side. I do hope I can surprise you though, with what I have in mind.
> 
> ...Enjoy!

"Can galra typically see, um, other planar beings?"

Allura looks up at the question. Keith, for the moment, wishes Emotions had an effect on Alteans. Just so he could have an idea as to what she's thinking.

"I don't think so," she says carefully after a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." Keith leaves the control room. So it's not his galra DNA, then. Curiosity and Nervousness trail behind him, brushing against him every so often to renew their effects. He sighs, trying to calm himself, trying to at least dull the Emotions. Nervousness backs off but Curiosity only tightens her grip. Fair enough. He decides to look for Coran.

"You could just ask us," Fear says. Keith jolts a little and glares at him.

"Would you actually answer?"

Fear laughs and shakes his head. The answer Keith expected, he thinks, as the red-eyed Emotion disappears again. He sighs and heads to where the medpods are, remembering that Lance is cleaning them with Coran.

Sure enough, Coran is there rambling on about something from his childhood. Concern and Boredom both stand by Lance, oddly enough. Keith knows that Lance only listens because it makes Coran feel better to reminisce. Keith approaches, making his steps loud enough to attract both their attentions. Lance's eyes light up at his arrival, and Adoration and Affection both replace the previous two Emotions. Keith smiles softly at him before he looks at Coran.

"Hey, Coran, do you know any, um, alien races who can, say, see other planar beings? Just out of curiosity." It isn't a lie.

Coran hums in thought, turning away from the medpod he's cleaning. "Quite a few, actually. The Algorins can see spirits, as can the Karlions. Oh, and this is only speculation, but it's said that there's some called the Monoiets who claim to see Emotion-"

"Tell me about them," Keith says quickly. Excitement brushes his side with a smile. Lance's eyes are wide as he listens to Coran.

"Well," Coran says, visibly confused by Keith's sudden excitement, "they're rather secretive. So that's really only a rumor.  Still, I met one a long time ago, and he was quite nice! Said he was looking for two new suitable parents for Life's next child! I do wonder how his search turned out..."

Keith wants to count that as a hint to his heritage, but reminds himself that it was over ten thousand years ago. "That's all you know, then?"

Coran nods slightly. "We're rather close to their planet, though. Only three quintants away without a wormhole! If you're so curious, we can stop for a visit!"

Keith nods, glancing over at Lance, who grins back at him. "Yeah," Keith says carefully. "As long as that's okay with Allura, that sounds good." Coran hums to himself, going back to cleaning off the pods. Keith blows a kiss to Lance before leaving the room, and he hears Lance giggling to himself just before the door closes behind him.

Keith walks down the hall, planning to head for the training room. It's been a productive day in finding out more about himself, after all. And he can't be slacking off on training just because of that.

Then, he sees a... Shadow, he wants to say. But that's not the right word. It's there one moment, then it's gone. As if it moved or... Disappeared. Like the Emotions do. He turns to ask Curiosity, but...

No. That can't be right. He feels her presence, but she's not there. "Curiosity?" he speaks, looking around. His brows furrow, his hairs stand on end. Fear? No, he's not there either... The air's not right. Something's here. Something's  _watching_.

Then it's gone. He can't feel it anymore. It takes a moment for Fear and Curiosity to come back. Keith can honestly say that this is the first time he's ever seen Fear's own Emotion on his expression. "What's going on?" he asks, though he knows he won't get a straight answer.

"Don't. Don't try to get into this... You won't like the results," Fear says. He's shaking, almost. Keith frowns, ignores Confusion. He shakes his head and heads for the training room.

If it's something he's not supposed to get into, then he won't. Unless it threatens Voltron, or Lance or the others. Then it's  _on_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's a bit shorter. I just wanted to introduce the upcoming, more intense storyline and also show everyone that no, I haven't dropped this fic/AU!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently read the sequel to Some Quiet Place, and can I just say that it was even better than its predecessor! (I especially liked that the girl in this one - spoiler alert! - DIDN'T END UP IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH FUCKING FEAR ITSELF - WHAT WAS REBECCA THINKING WITH THAT?! Alex had way more sense than her, thank god.)
> 
> Ahem... Enjoy.
> 
> Oh, also, I've been considering having Pidge not like Hunk anymore. Like, either they just get over him, or they start liking someone else (either Sendak, Lance or Keith. Yes I'm serious). So what do you guys think? I'm like leaning towards all of them equally so I guess it's up to you!
> 
> And no offense to anyone who's scared of tiny dogs!

"You're gonna get involved, aren't you?"

Lance knows Keith far too well. Keith chuckles softly, smiling adoringly at him. "Of course I am." Affection sighs softly, pityingly almost as they run a hand down Keith's arm, and shortly after, Lance's. Keith ignores it though, far more than used to the flood of adoration that flows through him with their touch.

Lance sighs, wrapping his arms more tightly around Keith and pulling him closer to his chest. They're sitting on his bed, with Keith in-between Lance's legs and his back pressed to Lance's chest. It's so nice to be relaxing like this with him...

"I wish you wouldn't. If an ass like Fear warns you not to do something... I mean, isn't it his job to tell you, 'Hey, this thing is dangerous, don't do that thing'."

Keith shrugs. "He doesn't do his job very well, though," he points out. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, he shouldn't have people be scared of such mundane things."

"Name one."

"Tiny dogs. Iverson's scared of the really small ones that can't even hurt him."

Lance snorts at that. "Okay, I'm definitely using that when we get back to Earth."

Keith giggles softly. "You see my point, then. Fear's just being his usual asshole self, probably."

"I guess..." Lance sighs softly, and presses a kiss to the back of Keith's head. "Let me know if you need help with anything, yeah?" he murmurs.

"I will. Doubt I'll need it, but I will if I do." Keith turns his head and presses a kiss to Lance's lips. "I love you."

"And you know I love you."

Keith giggles at the words, eyes twinkling as he briefly glances at Love, leaning against the side of the bed. "Yeah, I do," he says. "But it's still really nice to hear."

* * *

"I'm an ass who never does his job, huh?" Fear scoffs. Keith looks up from the book he's reading - something Allura translated from Altean for him.

"No, you're not. Exhibit A, you're here right now." 

"You _know_ we duplicate." Fear scowls, steps closer. Keith inches back. He never likes being too close to him. It sends...  _Visions_ through his mind. It happens with all of them. With Love, it's visions of happy, adoring couples, or of happy families. With Sorrow, it's of crying girls screaming to the sky, or of a girl whose mother has sent her away. And with Fear, it's of blood and murder, or of the people he cares about  _dying._

"What do you want?"

"To make sure that you're not going to get involved," Fear snaps. He's scowling, his sharp teeth glinting in the light. "Based on what I've heard, you are. And that's not going to fly by me, okay?"

"Like I give a shit what you think," Keith says, eyes narrowed. Anger appears, brushes his arm, and he holds his head up higher. "I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want. It's that, or stop being so damn cryptic and answer my fucking questions for once."

Fear stares at him for a moment, silent. "You know I can't-"

"I don't care what fucking laws you have on your plane. I don't. You know as well as I do that you broke plenty of them when you fell for Rebecca-"

"I told you to  _never_ mention her, I told you about her in confidence-"

"My point being, you broke plenty of laws already. I think a few more won't exactly make a difference."

Fear glares, but he sighs. He sits down, and Keith scoots away before the visions can come to him. "Fine. I'll tell you."

 


End file.
